Tourists undeterred by acts of terror: Lalit Suri

PTIApr 16, 2006, 09.45am IST

NEW DELHI: The serial blasts that rocked Srinagar last week have not roused fear among the tourists to the Valley and even after the blasts, their flow has been steady, a leading hotelier said here on Sunday.

"There were times a few years ago when the industry used to suffer due to such acts but now the tourists have come to terms that this can happen anywhere and at any time and thus there was no more fear psychosis," promoter of Bharat Group of Hotels Lalit Suri said.

The attitude of the tourists was a reason for the defeat of the objective of such terrorist activities, he added.

Suri owns a five-star hotel The Grand Palace Inter Continental in Srinagar. "After the blasts all the flights were absolutely full and there was no cancellation in the hotel," he said.

World over, tourists have come to terms that such acts were not restricted to any particular part of the world and could happen anywhere, he said.

Suri also complimented the government for pushing infrastructure like roads, highways and ports and said, "India is poised to become a tourists' hub".

Bharat Group of Hotels currently owns 10 properties across the country of which six are operational while the rest are either under renovation or construction.